Folding wagon with canopy

ABSTRACT

A folding wagon with a canopy has a front frame having a trapezoidal shape. The front frame is made of a front top horizontal member connected to a pair of front vertical members, namely a front left vertical member and a front right vertical member. The rear frame has a trapezoidal shape. The rear frame is made of a rear top horizontal member connected to a pair of rear vertical members, namely a rear left vertical member and a rear right vertical member. A crossbar assembly connects the front frame to the rear frame. The crossbar assembly forms a left side wall and a right side wall of the folding wagon. A folding bottom panel connects the front frame to the rear frame. The folding bottom panel forms a floor of the folding wagon.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is in the field of folding wagons with canopies.

DISCUSSION OF RELATED ART

A collapsible multi-purpose utility carts and wagons can providepractical everyday transportation tools. Unfortunately, most wagonscannot be folded and they are difficult to carry or store. Wagons havebeen used to transport heavy items, bulk items, small children, andsimilar items since they were first introduced into the market. Atraditional wagon generally has an open, flat bed, four wheels, and ahandle for pushing or pulling. The traditional wagon's inability to folddown to a compact, easily transportable size has proved to be an issuethat requires improvement. As a result, several modifications of thetraditional wagon have been invented.

One such invention is U.S. Pat. No. 469,459 filed May 2, 1893 byinventor James H. Waggener et al., the disclosure of which isincorporated herein by reference. The wagon body is designed such thattwo sides of the wagon are hinged to the bottom of the wagon and can befolded on the body allowing for compact transportation of the wagon whennecessary.

A similar invention is a collapsible wagon as described in United StatesPatent publication number US 2014/0001735 filed Jun. 29, 2012 byinventor Baoqing Yang, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein byreference. This invention provides a wagon with a frame that can bealtered from its expanded to its collapsed configuration along with thetelescoping tow handle that is adjustable between the twoconfigurations.

Another similar invention is presented in United States Patentpublication number US 2003/0025301 filed Dec. 8, 2000 by inventor HenryBanuelos III, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein byreference. This wagon is constructed in a durable and reliable manner,providing a net for storing cargo with the net capable of extendingbetween the bottom panel assembly and the upper rail for forming a cargocompartment, which allows for enhanced portability and compact storage.

The invention presented in United States Patent publication number US2011/0204598 filed Feb. 24, 2010 is another example of a folding wagon.This folding wagon opens and closes in a scissor-like motion from acollapsed position to an expanded position. The frame is constructedsuch that the upper ends of the cross members are connected to slidingjoints that move along the attached tower members.

A folding wagon with seats as seen in U.S. Pat. No. 8,388,015 filed Mar.2, 2010 by inventor Zhaosehng Chen is another similar twist to thetraditional wagon, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein byreference. The folding frame has a pair of front and rear verticalsupports each with a lower front and rear horizontal support and anupper front and rear horizontal support connecting them. The foldingframe also has supplemental links that form a front and rear seat.

Another older example of a folding wagon is found in U.S. patent Ser.No. 155,036 filed Apr. 10, 1950 by inventor Howard D. East, thedisclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. The wagon ismade up of parts that can be quickly folded into a reduced size,allowing the wagon to be placed into a somewhat small carrying case. Thecollapsible wagon is designed to carry goods while still being lightweight and convenient to pull.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides an easy to fold, and easy to store,versatile tool cart. The multipurpose folding tool cart can be folded toa stowed position and opened to a deployed position via moving linkagesforming a wagon frame. Pulling up the webbing that covers the foldingbottom panel for folding, can fold up the whole wagon since the wagon ismade of interlocking folding members. Preferably, the wagon is lightweight of about 12 kg and can carry a load of about 65 kg.

A folding wagon with a canopy has a front frame having a trapezoidalshape. The front frame is made of a front top horizontal memberconnected to a pair of front vertical members, namely a front leftvertical member and a front right vertical member. The rear frame has atrapezoidal shape. The rear frame is made of a rear top horizontalmember connected to a pair of rear vertical members, namely a rear leftvertical member and a rear right vertical member. A crossbar assemblyconnects the front frame to the rear frame. The crossbar assembly formsa left side wall and a right side wall of the folding wagon. A foldingbottom panel connects the front frame to the rear frame. The foldingbottom panel forms a floor of the folding wagon.

Canopy rods include a front left canopy rod, a front right canopy rod, arear left canopy rod and a rear right canopy rod. The front left canopyrod extends from the front left vertical member. The front right canopyrod extends from the front right vertical member. The rear left canopyrod extends from the rear left vertical member. The rear right canopyrod extends from the rear right vertical member. Each of the canopy rodshas a canopy rod cap mounted at an upper end of each of the canopy rods.Each of the canopy rod caps have a larger diameter than the diameter ofthe canopy rod. A canopy fits over the canopy rods. A retractable handleswivel connects to the front frame. The retractable handle has atelescopic configuration. The retractable handle comprises an uppertelescopic handle extension and a lower telescopic handle extension.Four wheels include a pair of rear wheels and a pair of front wheelsmounted to a pair of front wheel assemblies. The pair of front wheelassemblies has a four bar mechanism so that the front wheels turn in thedirection of the retractable handle.

The four bar mechanism has a left four bar steering attachment connectedto the left front wheel assembly and a right four bar steeringattachment connected to the right front wheel assembly, and furthercomprises a four bar linkage rod connected to the left four bar steeringattachment and also connected to the right four bar steering attachment.The four bar linkage rod is connected to the retractable handle andsteered by the retractable handle. The canopy is rectangular and hasfour plastic cards that are each shaped with a notch to respectivelyengage each rod cap of each canopy rod. Each canopy rod is mountedwithin a frame connector. Each frame connector further comprises a guidesleeve engaging with a piston. Each piston is mounted to a lower end ofeach canopy rod. Each guide sleeve is configured to retain each pistonand retain each canopy rod in an extended position when each canopy rodis extended. The retractable handle has a retractable handle latch forlatching the retractable handle in an extended position. The retractablehandle has a handle clip mounted on the front frame. The handle clipretains the retractable handle in a substantially vertical position. Thefolding wagon with a canopy has a pair of wheel stands mounted to thepair of rear wheel assemblies.

The folding bottom panel folds to an angle that locks the folding bottompanel into a folding bottom panel extended position. The folding bottompanel extended position is not flat. The folding wagon with a canopyalso has a frame latch that automatically latches the crossbar assemblyinto a closed position when the folding wagon is folded into a foldedposition. The folding wagon with a canopy has a rear basket having arear basket side. The rear basket is pivotally attached to the rearframe. The canopy rods are angled outward at between 5° angle and 20°angle from a vertical direction.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view diagram of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the folding wagon.

FIG. 3 is a top view of the steering mechanism.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the engagement between the canopy rods andthe canopy guide.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the canopy rod extension retainingmechanism.

FIG. 6 is a side view of the folding wagon in a folded configuration.

The following call out list of elements can be a useful guide inreferencing the elements of the drawings.

-   1 Front Frame-   2 Rear Frame-   3 Frame Cross Bar Assembly-   4 Folding Bottom-   5 Front Wheel Assembly-   6 Rear Wheel Assembly-   7 Retractable Handle-   8 Four-Bar Linkage-   9 Canopy Rod-   10 Folding Rear Frame Linkage Assembly-   11 Awning Cloth-   12 Tire-   13 Wheel Retainer-   14 Four Bar Linkage Rod-   21 Frame Connector-   22 Front Bottom Horizontal Member-   23 First Vertical Shaft Jacket-   24 Second Vertical Shaft Jacket-   25 Third Vertical Shaft Jacket-   26 Front Crossbar-   27 Handle Clips-   31 First Rotational Axis-   32 Second Rotational Axis-   33 Third Rotational Axis-   34 Four Bar Steering Linkage Joint-   35 Rod Cap-   36 Plastic Cards-   37 Anti-Skid Rubber Sheet-   38 Guide Sleeve-   39 Piston-   41 Lower Front Crossbar-   42 Four Bar Steering Attachment-   43 Lower Telescopic Handle Extension-   44 Upper Telescopic Handle Extension-   45 Telescopic Handle Extension Latch-   46 Wagon Stand-   47 Rear Basket-   48 Rear Basket Side

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The folding wagon has a front frame 1 and a rear frame 2. The frontframe 1 is connected to the rear frame 2 by a frame crossbar assembly 3and a folding bottom panel 4. The front frame is made of a front tophorizontal member connected to a pair of front vertical members. Thefront bottom horizontal member is also connected to a pair of frontvertical members. The front frame has a front crossbar 26 extending fromthe left front vertical member to the right front vertical member.

The upper end of the left front vertical member is connected to the leftend of the front top horizontal member and the lower end of the leftfront vertical member is connected to the left end of the front bottomhorizontal member 22. Similarly, the upper end of the right frontvertical member is connected to the right end of the front tophorizontal member and the lower end of the right front vertical memberis connected to the right end of the front bottom horizontal member 22.

The front frame is connected to the rear frame with a folding framecrossbar assembly 3. The folding frame crossbar assembly 3 has a leaningbar that provides a leaning connection. The folding bottom panel 4 ismade of a pair of bottom frames that are jointed for folding alone a midsection of the pair of bottom frames. The folding bottom panel 4 is alsobacked by a rigid planar panel such as a pair of rectangular pieces ofcardboard or a pair of rectangular fiberboard panels. The rigid planarpanels can be attached to or sewn inside pockets of a fabric basket thatis suspended from the wagon frame.

The front wheel assembly 5 includes a front pair of wheels and the rearwheel assembly 6 includes a rear pair of wheels.

A retractable handle 7 controls a four bar linkage 8. The four barlinkage 8 is connected to the retractable handle 7 and has a four barlinkage rod 14 that is connected to a pair of four bar steeringattachments 42. When the user steers the retractable handle 7, the fourbar linkage rod 14 is swiveled to be parallel to the retractable handle7 on the horizontal plane. The four bar linkage rod 14 moves the fourbar steering attachment 42. The pair of four bar steering attachments 42comprise two bars of the four bar linkage and are connected to the fourbar linkage rod 14 at a pair of four bar steering linkage joints 34.

The fourth bar of the four bar linkage mechanism 8 is the front bottomhorizontal member 22. The front bottom horizontal member is a portion ofthe front frame 1. Three vertical shaft jackets hold three verticalshafts that are free to rotate within the vertical shaft jackets. Thethree vertical shaft jackets are welded to the front bottom horizontalmember 22. The vertical shaft jackets can be made of rectangularcross-section tubular steel and the shafts held within the verticalshaft jackets can be of rounded cross-section. The first vertical shaftjacket 23 provides a swivel for the right front wheel assembly 5. Thesecond vertical shaft jacket 24 provides a swivel for mounting theretractable handle 7. The third vertical shaft jacket 25 provides aswivel for the left front wheel assembly 5.

Four canopy rods 9 extend upward from the wagon frame to provide asecure connection for a canopy. Each canopy rod 9 has a rod cap 35mounted to the top tip of the canopy rod 9. The canopy rod can beretracted into the frame connector 21. The frame connector 21 connects ahorizontal frame member with a vertical frame member. The canopy rods 9have a piston 39 that slides inside a guide sleeve 38. An antiskidrubber sheet 37 retains the canopy rod 9 in a locked position when thecanopy rod 9 is pulled upward against the frame connector 21.

The rod cap 35 fits inside a slot cut in a plastic card 36. The plasticcard 36 is mounted to the canopy rod 9. The plastic card 36 is stitchedto the awning cloth 11 of the canopy. The plastic card 36 has agenerally slightly less than a right angle that allows it to engage twosides of the rod cap 35. The canopy rods 9 are preferably oriented atapproximately 15° from an entirely vertical position with thetrapezoidal angle providing the proper orientation so that the rods canbe bent to a generally vertical position to provide a tension thatpushes the rod cap 35 into the depression that is formed on the slot cutof the plastic card 36. The plastic card 36 is a generally rectangularflexible sheet of plastic of approximately 1-3 mm so as to provide somerigidity and structure without being substantially inflexible. Theplastic cards 36 can also be glued to the corners of the awning cloth 11instead of being stitched. The canopy rods can be made with elasticfibers such as fiberglass so that the awning cloth remains taut andbiased into its deployed position.

The wagon stand 46 is a foot that is connected to the rear wheelassembly 6. A right wagon stand 46 is connected to the right rear wheelassembly 6 and a left wagon stand 46 is connected to the left rear wheelassembly 6. The wheel retainer 13 has an axle that holds the tire 12 ofthe wheel. Each of the wheels have a wheel retainer. The wagon stand 46is preferably welded to one or two of the rear wheel retainers.

The folding rear frame linkage assembly 10 can include a rear basket 47having a rear basket side 48 facing the wagon. The folding rear framelinkage assembly 10 is jointed to the crossbar assembly 3 so that thefolding frame linkage assembly 10 folds along with the crossbar assembly3. The crossbar assembly 3 is jointed at a first rotational axis 31, asecond rotational axis 32, and a rotational axis 33. The crossbarassembly folds from a folded position to a deployed position. Crossbarassemblies are well known in the prior art.

The folding bottom 4 bows downward so that it locks to preventaccidental folding of the frame. The downward bow of the folding bottom4 is analogous to a knee that can lock into an extended position. Thefolding bottom 4 has a pair of panels that has an angle of less than 5°from 180°.

The frame of the wagon preferably includes a front frame assemblycomposed of two poles and four crossbars. The four crossbars areconnected to each other using the frame connector 21 which is preferablymade of a different material than the four crossbars. The frameconnector 21 is preferably a plastic member. The front frame 1 and therear frame 2 are both preferably trapezoidal. The three vertical shaftjackets can be the same part that is welded to different locations. Thesecond vertical shaft jacket is between the first and third verticalshaft jackets so the second vertical shaft jacket is also anintermediate shaft jacket. The intermediate shaft jacket can receive thesteering rod of the four bar mechanism. The four bar mechanism can bewelded to the front bottom horizontal member 22.

Further support for the front frame can be provided by a front crossbar26. The front crossbar 26 can have a handle clip 27 for retaining theretractable handle 7. The retractable handle 7 can be set in a verticalposition where the retractable handle is clipped to the handle clip 27.The retractable handle 7 has an upper telescopic handle extension 44 anda lower telescopic handle extension 43. The upper telescopic handleextension 44 can be made as a pair of tubes that slides between thelower telescopic handle extension 43 which is also made of a pair oftubes. A telescopic handle extension latch 45 can provide a lockingmeans for locking the telescopic handle extension in an extendedposition. The lower front crossbar 41 extends across the front frame 1and provides an additional surface for the vertical shaft jackets to bemounted to the lower front crossbar 41 and the front bottom horizontalmember 22. The lower front crossbar 41 can be stacked on top of thefront bottom horizontal member 22.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A folding wagon with a canopy comprising:a. a front frame having a trapezoidal shape, wherein the front frame ismade of a front top horizontal member connected to a pair of frontvertical members, namely a front left vertical member and a front rightvertical member; b. a rear frame having a trapezoidal shape, wherein therear frame is made of a rear top horizontal member connected to a pairof rear vertical members, namely a rear left vertical member and a rearright vertical member; c. a crossbar assembly connecting the front frameto the rear frame, wherein the crossbar assembly forms a left side walland a right side wall of the folding wagon; d. a folding bottom panelconnecting the front frame to the rear frame, wherein the folding bottompanel forms a floor of the folding wagon; e. canopy rods including: afront left canopy rod; a front right canopy rod; a rear left canopy rodand a rear right canopy rod, wherein the front left canopy rod extendsfrom the front left vertical member, wherein the front right canopy rodextends from the front right vertical member, wherein the rear leftcanopy rod extends from the rear left vertical member, wherein the rearright canopy rod extends from the rear right vertical member, whereineach of the canopy rods has a canopy rod cap mounted at an upper end ofeach of the canopy rods, wherein each of the canopy rod caps have alarger diameter than the diameter of the canopy rod; f. a canopy fittedover the canopy rods; g. a retractable handle swivel connected to thefront frame, wherein the retractable handle has a telescopicconfiguration, and wherein the retractable handle comprises an uppertelescopic handle extension and a lower telescopic handle extension; andh. four wheels including a pair of rear wheels and a pair of frontwheels mounted to a pair of front wheel assemblies, wherein the pair offront wheel assemblies has a four bar mechanism so that the front wheelsturn in the direction of the retractable handle, wherein the four barmechanism has a left four bar steering attachment connected to the leftfront wheel assembly and a right four bar steering attachment connectedto the right front wheel assembly, and further comprising a four barlinkage rod connected to the left four bar steering attachment and alsoconnected to the right four bar steering attachment, wherein the fourbar linkage rod is connected to the retractable handle and steered bythe retractable handle, wherein the canopy is rectangular and has fourplastic cards that are each shaped with a notch to respectively engageeach rod cap of each canopy rod.
 2. The folding wagon with a canopy ofclaim 1, wherein the canopy rods are angled outward at between 5° angleand 20° angle from a vertical direction.
 3. The folding wagon with acanopy of claim 2, wherein each canopy rod is mounted within a frameconnector, wherein each frame connector further comprises a guide sleeveengaging with a piston, wherein each piston is mounted to a lower end ofeach canopy rod, wherein each guide sleeve is configured to retain eachpiston and retain each canopy rods in an extended position when eachcanopy rod is extended.
 4. The folding wagon with a canopy of claim 3,wherein the retractable handle has a retractable handle latch forlatching the retractable handle in an extended position.
 5. The foldingwagon with a canopy of claim 4, wherein the retractable handle has ahandle clip mounted on the front frame, wherein the handle clip retainsthe retractable handle in a substantially vertical position.
 6. Thefolding wagon with a canopy of claim 5, further comprising: a pair ofwheel stands mounted to the pair of rear wheel assemblies.
 7. Thefolding wagon with a canopy of claim 6, wherein the folding bottom panelfolds to an angle that locks the folding bottom panel into a foldingbottom panel extended position, wherein the folding bottom panelextended position is not flat.
 8. The folding wagon with a canopy ofclaim 7, further comprising: a frame latch that automatically latchesthe crossbar assembly into a closed position when the folding wagon isfolded into a folded position.
 9. The folding wagon with a canopy ofclaim 8, further comprising: a rear basket having a rear basket side,wherein the rear basket is pivotally attached to the rear frame.
 10. Thefolding wagon with a canopy of claim 1, wherein each canopy rod ismounted within a frame connector, wherein each frame connector furthercomprises a guide sleeve engaging with a piston, wherein each piston ismounted to a lower end of each canopy rod, wherein each guide sleeve isconfigured to retain each piston and retain each canopy rods in anextended position when each canopy rod is extended.
 11. The foldingwagon with a canopy of claim 1, wherein the retractable handle has aretractable handle latch for latching the retractable handle in anextended position.
 12. The folding wagon with a canopy of claim 1,wherein the retractable handle has a handle clip mounted on the frontframe, wherein the handle clip retains the retractable handle in asubstantially vertical position.
 13. The folding wagon with a canopy ofclaim 1, further comprising: a pair of wheel stands mounted to the pairof rear wheel assemblies.
 14. The folding wagon with a canopy of claim1, wherein the folding bottom panel folds to an angle that locks thefolding bottom panel into a folding bottom panel extended position,wherein the folding bottom panel extended position is not flat.
 15. Thefolding wagon with a canopy of claim 1, further comprising: a framelatch that automatically latches the crossbar assembly into a closedposition when the folding wagon is folded into a folded position. 16.The folding wagon with a canopy of claim 1, further comprising: a rearbasket having a rear basket side, wherein the rear basket is pivotallyattached to the rear frame.